Self-moving toy

ABSTRACT

AN IMPROVED SELF-MOVING TOY CHARACTERIZED BY A COMPACT INNER STRUCTURE ADAPTED TO BE WHOLLY MOUNTED WITHIN AN APPROPRIATELY SHAPED SHELL MEANS AND INCLUDES AN NOVEL SINGLE MOVING PART DRIVEN BY A BATTERY POWERED MOTOR TO PRODUCE BOTH MOTION AND SOUND TO AMUSE THE USER. THE SWITCH FOR TURNING THE MOTOR ON AND OFF IS ALSO WHOLLY CONTAINED WITHIN THE SHELL MEANS WITH NO OUTER DEPRESSION OR PROTRUSION ON THE OUTER SURFACE OF THE SHELL MEANS.

Dec. 7, 1971 s s 3,624,962

SELF-MOVING TOY Filed Dec. 11, 1970 FIG 2 1N VENTOR. KENNETH E. SYKES am d:

ATTORNEY United States Patent 3,624,962 SELF-MOVING TOY Kenneth E. Sykes, 2932 Perdue Ave., Columbus, Ohio 43224 Filed Dec. 11, 1970, Ser. No. 97,145 Int. Cl. A63h /00 US. Cl. 46-232 3 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE An improved self-moving toy characterized by a compact inner structure adaped to be wholly mounted within an appropriately shaped shell means and includes a novel single moving part driven by a battery powered motor to produce both motion and sound to amuse the user. The switch means for turning the motor on and off is also wholly contained within the shell means with no outer depression or protrusion on the outer surface of the shell means.

The present invention relates generally to childrens toys and particularly to a novel toy of improved construction which is adapted to roll, bounce, and in addition produce sound.

In general the present invention comprises a supporting shell means preferably divided into two sections which are removably connected to one another. An electric motor and storage battery means are mounted in one of these sections. A shaft is operatively connected to the motor and carries a flywheel which includes an eccentrically weighted portion afiixed to a resilient portion provided with a plurality of flexible arms surrounding the periphery of the flywheel. Switch means are mounted within the shell means and operate between off and on positions to initiate the movement of the flywheel.

It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide a self-moving toy having an improved construction of relatively simple yet durable design.

It is another object of the present'invention to provide a toy of the type described which features a compact interior which permits the outer dimensions to be of reduced size compared to prior art toys which are capable of generally similar movement.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a toy of the type described which incorporates only one moving part when in operation to impart not only motion but also to produce sound to further amuse the user.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a toy of the type described wherein the supporting shell means includes two sections removably connected to one another to provide ease of access to the inner portion for replacement of batteries or the like.

It is still another object of the present invention to provide a toy of the type described in which the switch means are completely enclosed within the outer shell with no depressions or protrusions on the outer shell to interfere with the toys movement or detract from its appearance.

It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a toy of the type described which is relatively simple to manufacture and assemble using standard equipment and techniques.

Further objects and advantages of the present invention will be apparent from the following description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings wherein a preferred form of embodiment of the invention is clearly shown.

In the drawings:

FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a toy constructed in accordance with the present invention, the section being taken along the vertical centerline of the toy;

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the lower half of the toy shown in FIG. 1 with the upper half portion removed from the lower half portion;

FIG. 3 is a side elevational view in section of the upper half portion of the toy shown in FIG.1, the section being taken along the centerline of the toy;

FIG. 4 is a top plan view of the upper half section shown in FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is a side elevational view in section of a portion of the toy shown in FIG. 1 illustrating the flywheel removed from the remaining structure; and

FIG. 6 is a bottom plan view of that portion of the toy shown in FIG. 5.

Referring in detail to the drawings, a toy constructed in accordance with the present invention is illustrated in FIG. 1 and includes an outer shell means, indicated generally at 20, which is shown in the form of a ball. However, it should be pointed out that other forms such as an egg-shape could be used without departing from the spirit of the present invention.

Shell means 20 includes upper and lower portions, 22 and 24 respectively, which are removably connected to one another. In the embodiment shown, shell means 20 is constructed preferably of conventional plastic material for economy and ease of manufacture, and the portions 22 and 24 are held together by a friction fit between overlapping rim portions 28 and 30' surrounding the adjoining edges of each portion. The outer diameter of rim 30 is slightly larger than the inner diameter of the upper portion 22 at rim 28 to provide a snug fit between the two rim portions and yet still permit rotation of portions 22 and 24 relative to one another.

A relatively small conventional electric motor 32 is disposed within the lower shell portion 24 and is removably mounted between motor mount 34. Mount 34 is preferaby integrally formed with the shell portion 24 and include arms 36 which preferably are resilient and biased inwardly to permit motor 32 to be held in position by merely pushing the motor downwardly between arms 36.

A pair of conventional miniature batteries 38 are removably mounted adjacent to opposing sides of motor 32 in force transmitting engagement therewith by conducting spring members 40. The outer ends of spring members 40 are fixedly mounted to the inner wall of lower portion 24.

In this manner, the batteries 38 as well as the motor 32 may easily be removed and replaced when necessary.

A shaft 42 is operatively connected to and driven by motor 32. A flywheel, indicated generally at 44, is mounted on shaft 42 and rotates therewith.

Flywheel 44 includes a generally circular disc-like portion 46 and an eccentrically weighted portion 48. Portion 46 is preferably a rubber or flexible plastic material and is provided with a plurality of movable arms such as at 50.

Arms 50 may be formed by cutting a plurality of slits along the line of a chord of the circular disc but extending only to one edge of the circumference of the disc 46. The inner portion of each arm 50 is integrally formed with the central portion but the outer portions may be flexed outwardly to extend beyond the radius of the disc.

Portion 48 preferably comprises a generally half-circle and is composed of a relatively dense material such as lead to provide an eccentrically disposed weight to the flywheel construction. Upon rotation, portion 48 creates a continual shift in weight within the shell means 20 to provide erratic movement to the toy.

As the flywheel begins to rotate at or near maximum speed, arms 50 of disc-like portion 46 tend to move outwardly beyond the radius of the disc due to the configuration of the arms 50 and centrifugal force created by the rotation of the flywheel.

This effect can be increased by providing a rim 53 surrounding the outer edge of disc 46 so that the outer ends of each arm 50 is thicker and heavier than the inner portion.

A sound arm 52, is provided in upper portion 22 of shell means 20 in the form of a protrusion preferably integrally molded on the inner wall of portion 22. Arm 52 is aligned adjacent to disc 46 and spaced a predetermined distance from the outer periphery of the disc.

The distance between the periphery of disc 46 when stationary and the edge of arm 52 is relatively small so that at high speed of rotation outward movement of arms 50 results in contact with arm 52 to create a noise or sound to amuse the user.

It should be pointed out that upon initial rotation of flywheel 44, the arms 50 do not extend outwardly far enough to contact sound arm 52 which would restrict the rotation of flywheel 44 and potentially prevent the maximum speed of rotation to be reached. Therefore only after flywheel 44 approaches the maximum speed of rotation is the centrifugal force great enough to cause sufficient outward movement of arms 50 to contact sound arm 52. This results in optimum performance in the vibration and movement of the toy with minimum loss of such movement in the creation of the sound caused by contact between arms 50 and sound arm 52. The degree of outward movement of arms 50 can be controlled by the flexibility of the material used for disc 46 and arms 50, the angulation of arms 50 relative to a true segment of the disc, and the distance between the periphery of disc 46 and sound arm 52.

After flywheel 44 has approached its maximum speed, the contact between arms 50 and sound arm 52 does not substantially impair the speed of rotation since arms 50 are flexible and the degree of contact necessary to produce a sound is relatively slight.

Referring now specifically to FIG. 2, a switch means is mounted completely within shell means 20 and comprises first and second contacts 56 and 58 fixed in spaced relationship from one another to the inner wall of lower portion 24. A third contact 60 is fixed to the inner wall of upper portion 22. These contacts are disposed such that upon joining the portions 22 and 24 together, contact 60 fits between contacts 56 and 58. Contact 60 is designed just wide enough to bridge the space 62 between contacts 56 and 58 and overlap slightly. Once the sections 22 and 24 are properly put together, relative rotation between them results in moving contact 60 toward either contact 56 or 58 and out of engagement with the other.

Contact 56 is operatively connected to the spring conductor at the positive terminal of one battery 38 which is in conducting relationship with motor 32. One of the motor terminals is then operatively connected to the negative side of the other battery 38. The other motor terminal is operatively connected to the contact 58 so that when contact 60 is engaging both contacts 56 and 58 the circuit is completed and this represents the on position of the switch means. Rotation of the sections 22 and 24 relative to one another to move contact 60 out of engagement with one of contacts 56 or 58 breaks the circuit and turns the motor oif.

A pair of stops 64 and 65 molded into the wall of portion 24 are disposed at the outer ends of contacts 56 and 58 to limit the degree of rotation of portions 22 and 24 .4 once properly joined together with contact 60 disposed between the stops. Contact 60 then cannot be moved past either of stops 64 or 66.

Referring again to FIGS. 1 and 3, a small hole 66 is provided in the rim 28 of upper portion of 22 and a similar hole 68 in rim 30 of lower portion 24. Holes 66 and 68 are disposed in the respective rims such that when the two portions are fitted together, with the switch means in the on position, the holes are aligned with one another as seen in FIG. 1. This permits the intensity of sound created by disc portion 46 to more easily reach the user. When the portions 22 and 24- are rotated to the off position as previously described, the respective holes 66 and 68 are moved to a non-aligned relationship to close access to the inner portion of the shell. This prevents dirt or the like from entering the interior of shell means 20 when the toy is not in operation.

From the foregoing description it should be readily apparent that the toy of the present invention provides a compact, simple, durable construction which provide both self-movement and sound to attract and amuse the user.

I claim:

1. A toy comprising, in combination, a supporting shell means including a first and a second shell section removably connected to one another; an electric motor removably mounted in one of said sections; storage battery means disposed within said shell section and operatively connected to said motor; rotatable shaft means operatively means; an eccentrically weighted flywheel disposed within said shell means and including a substantially circular disc portion having a plurality of flexible outwardly extending arms, said arms being movably extendable upon high speed rotation of said flywheel to contact an inner portion of said shell means to produce an audible sound; and switch means operatively connected to said battery means and to said motor and movably mounted completely within said shell means between on and off positions.

2. The toy defined in claim 1 wherein said flexible arms of said flywheel are formed by a plurality of slits extending along a portion of chords of the circular disc portion.

3. The toy defined in claim 1 wherein said switch means includes a pair of contacts fixedly mounted within one of said shell sections and a third contact fixedly mounted within the other of said shell sections, said contacts being disposed such that rotation of one of said shell sections relative to the other moves said contacts between on and off positions.

References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 3,315,407 4/1967 Case et al. 46-232 3,453,773 7/1969 Compton et al. 46243 M 3,530,617 9/1970 Halvorson et a1. 46--243 M LOUIS G. MANCENE, Primary Examiner R.' F. CUTTING, Assistant Examiner U.S. Cl. X.R. 

